Day Off with the actress Jani Zhao

The previous guests of this "Day Off" series were people I already knew, which made me approach our shootings and conversations in a different way. But with Jani, it was a first. We had never met before. I knew some of her actress work, we had talked a couple times before and I had this feeling that we were on the same page, about each others work.

So, considering that we were both taking some time off from our busy schedules, I thought I could ask her some questions to get to know her better and share it with you as well. And just like it happened with the previous guests, I ended up with the feeling that these transcriptions are just not enough… it got me thinking again about creating a podcast version of it. I mean, Jani is such an interesting person, that I wished you could also get to know her as I did. The transcript bellow that I’m sharing with you are her most objective answers to my questions, but we ended up talking about several other topics. Unfortunately, I can’t transcribe them all here because that would take me a looong time to do and most of you, would probably not read it all.

I guess I’ll think a bit more about the possibility of a podcast version… what do you think about it? Do you prefer to read these transcriptions or would you like to have an audio version? (Let me warn you, my voice is terribly monocordic… which might be good, if you have insomnias.)

Until then, enjoy these bits and the photos we did :)

If Jani was a character, how would you describe her?

She’s a determined person, faithful, very optimistic. Hm… hardworking too… I think it would be an interesting character, if you don’t mind me saying this about myself (laughs), because although I might look like a balanced and stable character, each one of us, has their own insecurities, doubts, questions that come up due to the different life experiences we go through.

I think the background of this character would be… something very strong. She would be a calm character, a bit reserved, but dedicated to the ones who are closer to her. I’d say, a simple character, with her feet on the ground. Fortunately, I know myself pretty well, which helps me having this perspective over life and myself.

Ah… (sigh) there's so much to be said… what have I missed?

At the time of this conversation, what would be title of this chapter of your life?

Hm… I’d say it’s a new one, a turning page. A new cycle! I think it can be “New Horizons”… or maybe… “The beginning of the flight”.

Why did you choose to be an actress?

I didn’t choose to be an actress, I started as a model. When I was 13 years old, a scouter approached me on the street, saying she liked me and inviting me to go to her agency. When I got home, I told my parents and my brother, they said yes and we went there. Meanwhile, while I was at the agency filling a form, the agent asked me “if a tv casting shows up, would you be interested?”. And I still remember my totally naive answer… “I don’t know what that is… no!”. She still insisted “Are you sure?” but I said no again. When I got home, I was telling my mother and my brother how things went with the agency and when I told them tv castings part, they were like “what do you mean, you said no?! You’ve got nothing to loose, you should try!” . So, the next day, I called my agent and asked her to let me know, if something for tv came up.

And I really believe in destiny, that everything happens for a reason… when things are meant to happen, they will happen! And 3 days after that phone call, my agent sent me to a tv series casting. I went through the 3 phases of that casting and I got the part, it was my first time on television. I had no clue of what I was doing. It’s not like today I know much more, but at least now, I have some basic knowledge and some experience. But at the time, I was a child. And since that first tv series, I haven’t stopped working.

So when did I realise that I wanted to be an actress? It was on my second job, it was really hard. I was doing a soap opera for TVI, prime time, with a difficult part and I’m aware that I did it all intuitively. I didn’t know a thing back then. I used to read the script, played it and everything came out naturally. I didn’t think much, I didn’t study the scripts… at the time, everything was very natural.

And then I worked with a guy who told me about a professional theatre school in Cascais, to which I decided to go, because I had too many questions and I needed answers. I wanted to know what I was doing and to understand how I did it, so that I could repeat it every time it was necessary. And that's when I realised, that this is what I really like to do.

From all the characters you’ve played so far, which was the one you learned more with? And why?

It was the one from that second job, for the soap opera. It was a huge challenge at the time and I believe that within a year, it will be the one that I’m currently developing.

On that soap opera, I was 16 at the time and I had several difficult scenes right from the start, that involved scenes in a prison and violence in Thailand… I was a child and although I knew I had a certain maturity, it was quite complicated for me.

If you crossed paths with a fortuneteller, what question would you ask?

Aaah! That’s a tough one… I don’t think I’d ask any. I don’t like making plans, programming stuff or projecting… I like things to take their natural course and to solve things as they happen. There’s always the question “will I die happy?”. I don’t know… probably I wouldn’t ask really.

What’s your next big adventure?

The character I’m currently working on. It’s a kind of Mata Hari… a true challenge! She’s capable of anything.

That does sound challenging, you’ve never done something like that.

That’s right, I didn’t. But you see, things happen when they have to. This is a good turning page… this new character is a ruthless woman. She’s a villain, but there’s also a very human side of her, with which people will relate to.